A legal tussle over who owns teff, Ethiopia’s staple grain, has been quietly settled. A three-judge court in the Netherlands ruled a European patent for the products made of teff lacked “inventiveness,” ending a years-long controversy over who owned the ancient grain. The controversial patent, which was originally filed in 2003, listed Dutchman Jans Roosjen as the inventor of the teff flour that’s used to make injera flatbread and other traditional Ethiopian food. The Ethiopian embassy in the Netherlands confirmed the ruling, which was first filed in June 2014 and whose verdict was delivered in November. Looking at it as a lucrative industry as such, teff products have been introduced in countries including Spain and the United States.

Source: Ethiopian News February 07, 2019 16:18 UTC